Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.
Chapter 42: A survivor from the mist.

Chapter 42: A survivor from the mist.

When she came out of the space, Hades was on his feet, jumping up and down, testing out his robot leg.

His eyes flashed with childlike excitement when he saw Sunshine and he run to her side, grabbing her hands. "It talks to me Sunshine, the robot leg! I can hear it my mind. It has been making suggestions about my movements."

"It is a self thinking alloy imbued with Neurosync threads that allow for telepathic communication." She replied as she pushed him down on the bed.

She wanted him to be calm for the next piece of bad news she was about to deliver.

"It makes jokes too." Hades squeezed her hands, gushing excitedly. "Tomorrow, I am going to start training my body according to the plan it has made for me. It has urged me to improve my kick speed." He paused like he was listening to something and then he looked at her again, "It wants to test my racing speed too. Apparently I need to keep increasing it until I can outrun shadows."

"Hades." She started.

His hands moved to her arms and he gripped them. "This is by far the coolest thing that I have ever owned. When Ariel sees it, he will be the next to volunteer for a repair. I feel like a kid on christmas opening presents. Arrrghhh..." He growled and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you Sunshine, I don’t know how to say it or how to repay you."

Squeezed in his arms with a twisted face because he was crushing her ribs, she said, "You can start by forgiving me for accidentally selling your eight million worth of bluefin tuna."

Hades laughed. "Woman, you have given me a leg worth hundreds of millions and you think I care about some damn fish. Sell it all, we will just buy more later.

Right now, just let me hug you because I think that if I don’t hold on to something, I might fly out of the window. Jo-Stride says that with time and more upgrades and energy, I will be able to fly."

"Who is Jo-Stride?" she asked.

"My robot leg." he answered with pride. His heart was beating so fast, the excitement he had could not be dampened by any news. Even if the apocalypse started right there, he would run out and welcome it with a red carpet. And it was because he had Sunshine. "You are great Sunshine Raine...you are simply great." he mumbled.

***

Back at Fort slide desert base, it was busier than ever. Another team of soldiers and scientists was reported as dead. Drones had been flown into the mist and vague images of dead bodies had been captured.

The mist had doubled in size and the sink holes had grown larger. The drones had captured sounds of what seemed to be bubbling. Nobody knew what was boiling under the earth’s surface.

The Secretary of Defense had been awakened by a call from the president and ordered to come to the base in person and then report back.

Secretary Rommel was eager to show results and since his arrival, he had been barking commands and sending soldiers into the mist.

The day was about to break, he had no results to show and he was getting antsy.

"Send in another team." He commanded.

The command drew frowns from the waiting soldiers. Just because they had signed up to serve and die for the country did not mean it had to be carelessly done just so another politician could add a star to his achievements.

"Sir we cannot send in another team into the hot zone without figuring out what that damn mist is. We have so far sent in six squads of twelve men each and no one has made it back alive." Commander Grayson pinched his lips, trying not to say anything offending.

What he wanted to say was ’shut the fuck up or pick up a gun and go in yourself.’

Secretary Rommel’s nose twisted as if smelling rot, teeth bared into a silent snarl. "I do not care if you send thousands or millions. I need to know what the hell is in that mist right now." He snapped, fingers drumming a battle field rhythm.

"Sir even if we wanted to send in more men, none of the soldiers are willing to go in there. They are willing to face insubordination punishments but they won’t go into the mist. Not that I blame them." Commander Grayson’s last words came as a whisper, he was tired of signing his men’s death warrants.

Secretary Rommel raised his hand and almost slapped the commander. At the last second, he turned the slap into a playful fist bump against the commander’s chest.

Through gritted teeth he said, "They are fucking army boys, they sighed their death warrants the moment they entered the army. You are suspended Grayson, I will appoint someone that has the balls to do what I say. Your defiance is going to cost you your job." He spat on the ground.

The base commander gritted his teeth, refusing to give the chief of defense the satisfaction of a reaction. "Sir yes sir!" He answered, offering a salute. He turned around and walked off.

Willy Sikes, a secret service agent sidled up to secretary "Sir, the president’s chief of staff wants to know how far you have gone in rescuing Carson Warnock?"

The words rolled out of Willy Sikes, his fingers trembling. Carson was his old friend whom he was worried about, he could not help but think that Carson was already dead.

They had all listened to screams as more and more soldiers ventured into the dreadful mist.

"Who?" The chief of defense rubbed his forehead, the president’s original order had already skipped his mind. His own priority was to keep the country safe not just one man. He wanted to know what was in the mist? What danger were they facing?

Willy breathed in sharply and exhaled loudly. "Carson Warnock Sir! The president told you to...." He paused when they heard noises outside.

"Someone is coming out!" A voice shouted.

All the lights on the watch towers concentrated in one spot. Armed soldiers flanked the sides, keeping a distance from the mist. Doctors in the tent rushed out and waited to see the first survivor.

Even the bomb squad was waiting close by, ready to act if needed. Meanwhile, Secretary Rommel hid behind his agents in case whatever came out was dangerous.

What came out was a man, naked fully. His body appeared to be half-burned by something.

"He’s alive, alert the medics." Someone shouted.

"Help! H-help." The survivor croaked before collapsing on the ground.

Willy Sikes broke protocol and run fast towards the survivor, ignoring all warnings to stand still or return to his position. "Carson my God! It’s Carson!" He chocked out a laugh but it dissolved into a sob.

His words rushed into the ear fobs of the other agents and the identity of the survivor was quickly confirmed.

"I’ll be damned, how the hell did he survive?" Ceaser Rommel murmured. More importantly, what had he seen or experienced in the mist?

Medics rushed to help him onto a cart. Someone urged the medical aid helicopter to be started. The survivor had severe burns and had to be taken to the hospital immediately.

Caesar Rommel did not give a hoot how badly Carson was burned. He just wanted answers and he refused to let them take Carson into the helicopter.

"Sir I am sorry but if we waste anymore time, this man could die." A male doctor politely spoke.

"I will not take long, I just need him to answer a few questions." Secretary Ceaser shoved one of the doctors aside.

A female army doctor blocked his path. "Sir, with all due respect, are your eyes so small that they cannot see that the man is seriously burned? We don’t know what burned him. You risk being infected right now if he was poisoned by radiation. You can find him at the Fort slide general hospital if you need to talk to him."

The other doctors meanwhile were already pushing the gurney into the helicopter. Carson was flown away immediately and the watch for other survivors was resumed. If one had made it out, maybe others would too.

"Send in more men. NOW!" Secretary Ceaser screamed as he rushed away to fly to Fort slide general. The more men were burned, the more answers he would have.